These AI Tools Upped My Productivity, Here’s How

Benjamin Franklin as soon as mentioned, “Misplaced time is rarely discovered once more.” Whereas that isn’t precisely essentially the most optimistic quote, it’s sadly true. Till scientists determine time machines or immortality, we’re caught with adopting strategies to stay productive and higher use our time.

We are able to’t deny AI’s cultural renaissance. It has develop into part of on a regular basis workflows and conversations. HubSpot’s AI Proof & Positioning Report discovered that staff are most involved about shedding their jobs because of AI, and the #1 motive they don’t use AI is as a result of they fear about changing into too reliant on it.

Whereas I perceive how unsettling it could really feel to have a software that appears to do your job higher than you (the professional), I’ve acknowledged that AI is definitely simply serving to me do my job higher and quicker.

Nonetheless skeptical? Learn on for extra knowledge from our AI Proof & Positioning Report and The HubSpot Blog’s State of AI Report, which surveyed 1100 entrepreneurs.

Desk of Contents

AI Productiveness Stats

AI tools help marketers quickly sift through massive quantities of knowledge and current it much less complexly. I can attest that, as a marketer, AI instruments like ChatGPT and Grammarly have helped me streamline analysis, current textual content clearly and concisely, and enhance my potential to multitask throughout a number of campaigns.

Professionals who’ve applied AI and automation into their workflow share that these instruments assist them get menial duties carried out quicker, enhance the effectivity of their duties and targets, and liberate time that could possibly be higher spent on essentially the most vital duties.

On this means, AI just isn’t solely bettering productiveness but additionally serving to to make your job extra satisfying.

Listed below are some survey outcomes from actual trade professionals who see the worth of AI of their day by day workflows.

1. 75% of respondents both considerably agreed or strongly agreed that AI helped save time on handbook duties.
2. AI instruments give advertising and marketing groups 12.5 hours again per week, which equates to 25-26 extra working days per 12 months. This enables entrepreneurs to deal with strategic duties, inventive work, and folks administration.
3. 84% of bloggers/SEOs state that AI and automation have impacted their search engine marketing technique.
4. 83% of entrepreneurs say that AI helps them create considerably extra content material than they may with out.
5. 85% of salespeople utilizing AI and automation say it makes their prospecting efforts more practical.
6. 72% of companies which have applied AI instruments state that AI and automation make their staff extra productive.
7. 68% of enterprise leaders say that AI may also help their firm scale in a means not possible with out it.
8. 53% of entrepreneurs who use generative AI to write down copy say they solely have to make minor edits to the textual content afterward.

How I Examined the Finest AI Instruments for Work

So many AI instruments exist, every with completely different functions and worth elements. I consider one of the best ways to check new instruments is to use them to my work — kill two birds with one stone, and all.

To guage the productiveness instruments talked about beneath, I utilized every throughout my writing for this weblog submit. Whether or not to extend the pace of the particular writing or enhance my time administration across the writing course of, I discovered the instruments beneath important to entrepreneurs and writers.

Whereas I particularly utilized them to my work as a author, I can verify that, as a marketer, I already use among the instruments beneath or would fortunately implement them in my day-to-day job at Nickelodeon. In any case, 35% of marketers say they already use AI and automation instruments day by day.

AI Productiveness Instruments

1. Jasper

As a weblog author, I naturally began my analysis with a content material creation software.

Jasper is an AI software that helps write all types of enterprise-marketing-style content material, from press releases to web site touchdown pages to, sure, weblog posts. It’s the second-most popular AI tool for advertising and marketing.

I used the “Model Voice” characteristic to hyperlink one in all my latest HubSpot blog posts. This characteristic helps the software set up your “voice” so it could greatest match that when producing textual content.

Subsequent, I clicked “Create Content material” and toggled to “Create a weblog submit.” The submit you might be studying is greatest served as a listicle, so I selected “Listicle” as my sort of submit. Jasper then requested me to fill within the subject, viewers, and description.

After filling on this fast info, I hit “Generate now.” Look ahead to your self how Jasper sprung to the take a look at.

I didn’t count on the submit to be able to ship after Jasper wrote it since AI content is not complete enough to publish by itself about 96% of the time. I used to be right in my pondering as a result of the submit was far too brief and a bit too stiff.

However that’s okay since only 5% of marketers use generative AI to write down complete items of content material. Extra individuals merely use it to spark inspiration (35%), create an overview (33%), or get a number of paragraphs to develop upon (25%).

What I Like

• The “Model Voice” characteristic lets you add or hyperlink to your or your model’s writing samples so Jasper can pump out content material that meets your distinctive type. Many writers, like myself, are very protecting of our voices, so this characteristic made me really feel snug and assured that the textual content may keep true to me.
• Your content material takes simply seconds to be written up. You merely have to fill in some transient details about the content material, similar to subject, audience, or name to motion, and Jasper will shortly use that info to draft a comparable piece. My jaw dropped at how briskly the software pumped out a model — albeit shorter and fewer pleasant — of this very weblog submit.
• Jasper does an amazing job of staying throughout the standards you request. For my weblog submit, for instance, I listed the precise headline titles and variety of instruments I wished to include, and the software made positive to comply with these guardrails.
• You’ll be able to create a Marketing campaign to maintain all of your content material in a single place. If I have been utilizing this software for my job at Nickelodeon, I may manage social and print advertisements, e-mail newsletters, Instagram submit copy, and press releases for a similar new youngsters’ sequence marketing campaign throughout the identical folder.

What Wants Enchancment

• Regardless that I linked to a latest HubSpot weblog submit to assist set up my voice, the AI-generated submit was much less private, a lot shorter, and extra formal than my writing often is. The concept of “Model Voice” is sensible, however it might require a number of writing samples earlier than Jasper acknowledges your type.

Pricing

• Creator plan: $39/month ($468/12 months) – 1 person
• Professional plan: $59/month/seat ($708/12 months) – as much as 6 customers
• Marketing strategy: Should contact Jasper workforce for pricing.

2. Grammarly

Grammarly is a software I’ve been utilizing since faculty earlier than AI had a reputation. I’ve at all times been obsessive about phrases and grammar (very cool, I do know), so I turned equally as obsessive about a software that would enhance my writing in real-time.

I’ve the free Grammarly for Chrome extension, which gives strategies on numerous writing-related points, together with correctness, tone strategies, full sentence rewrites, readability, engagement, and supply.

How loopy is that? You’ll be able to see how Grammarly can present reside suggestions whilst you sort. It’s a vital software for content material creators of every kind. Irrespective of how brief or lengthy your textual content is, having an AI co-creator wanting over your shoulder like an AP English instructor is useful.

Why I Like It

• You’ll be able to obtain writing strategies as you go (like I do with the Grammarly extension), or if you happen to’d quite sort up your textual content and procure suggestions on the finish, you’ll be able to add a doc or copy and paste a whole physique of textual content immediately into the Grammarly software.
• Grammarly analyzes your piece for the subject and argument and makes use of its “Enhance your affect” characteristic to counsel the best way to meet these targets. This elevates the software from a spelling and grammar checker to an end-to-end writing companion in seconds.
• The ability remains to be in your fingers as the author; whereas Grammarly gives suggestions on every thing from rephrasing a sophisticated sentence to deciding on a extra substantial synonym, you make the final word choice. I do know my writing greatest, so I select to train my inventive liberty when Grammarly’s strategies are much less technical.
• College students and professionals alike can use the “Examine for plagiarism” characteristic to make sure you haven’t unintentionally borrowed some phrases from one other supply.
• The AI software can simply be built-in into different instruments, web sites, and apps, similar to Microsoft Suite, Google Drive, iOS, Android, and even Hubspot, so you’ll be able to guarantee your writing improves throughout all platforms.

What Wants Enchancment

• As a lot as I really like this software, I have to admit it could typically be visually distracting. I’m continually sifting by means of dozens of multi-colored, underlined phrases and phrases, which might develop into tedious.
• As is true for all AI instruments, Grammarly can’t be trusted to be 100% excellent. It’s at all times greatest to make use of your experience as a author (or that of a trusted colleague or good friend) to present your writing a once-over and guarantee Grammarly doesn’t miss an incorrect verb tense or pointless capitalization.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Premium plan: $12/month, billed yearly (or $30/month, billed month-to-month)
• Marketing strategy: $15/month, billed yearly (or $25/month, billed month-to-month)

3. ChatGPT

We’ve all heard of it — one of many forerunners within the AI trade. In 2022, OpenAI developed ChatGPT, a chatbot and digital assistant, and it has shortly develop into a trusted software for information, solutions, concepts, and assist. You’ll be able to chat about numerous subjects, as seen from the advised prompts beneath.

53% of marketers who use AI instruments use chatbots. For this weblog submit, I used to be inquisitive about what differentiates ChatGPT from different chatbots, so I requested.

As you’ll be able to see, ChatGPT is exclusive as a result of it has information of a variety of topics and may perceive and talk in a human-like method. It’s made to converse, so that you don’t have to formalize your writing, and it could usually comprehend minor spelling and grammar errors, as I examined beneath:

Why I Like It

• ChatGPT gives priceless help to professionals. You’ll be able to train your ChatGPT to satisfy your particular skilled wants, similar to conducting market analysis or discovering concepts for buyer surveys, by inputting your model tips into the “Customized Directions” characteristic, constructing templates for prompts, and extra.
• It simply integrates with other tools and websites, providing alternatives for personalization, AI-fueled conversations with customers, and environment friendly streamlining of knowledge and knowledge throughout platforms. I not too long ago used the Expedia app’s AI assistant, which has ChatGPT expertise, to plan a visit to Charleston.
• You’ll be able to depend on ChatGPT for a lot of use instances that will in any other case have to be break up up throughout a number of AI instruments. I’ve used it to seek out out what sorts of influencers are hottest in worldwide markets, uncover synonyms for widespread phrases, and even learn to dissipate leftover produce in my fridge.

What Wants Enchancment

• ChatGPT can not be taught in real-time, so its information solely exists up till the final time it was up to date (presently January 2022). Meaning a few of its info could be barely outdated or not factual.
• Whereas it could talk like a human, it’s not human. ChatGPT may typically miss the context for or misread your prompts or questions. It could possibly additionally present biased or incorrect info, so its phrase can’t be relied on as legislation.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Plus plan: $20/month
• Group plan: $25/person/month, billed yearly (or $30/person/month, billed month-to-month)
• Enterprise plan: Should contact ChatGPT workforce for pricing.

4. Reclaim

“Reclaim” your time with Reclaim, an AI calendar scheduling app that optimizes your (and your workforce’s) schedules to extend private and workforce productiveness, all whereas prioritizing your work-life steadiness.

Reclaim boasts supplying you with again an additional work day each week, with 7.6 extra productive hours, which I do know I may actually use.

I accomplished a superb chunk of this submit on a rolling foundation however discovered myself a few days earlier than the due date with roughly 8 hours of writing left. I used Reclaim to assist me optimize my time round my morning exercises, Nickelodeon working hours, and night social plans to get my submit carried out in time.

Reclaim additionally gives quite a lot of skilled and private behavior templates to select from, and it’ll routinely match the behavior into your calendar for nevertheless lengthy and at no matter cadence you like.

My work calendar shortly fills up with conferences, so I’d use Reclaim to arrange Focus Time all through my week to work on tasks and Mindfulness breaks to make sure I take brief walks and time away from my display screen.

Marketers spend approximately five hours daily on handbook, administrative, or operational duties. AI instruments like Reclaim may also help the typical marketer save almost 2.5 hours day by day on these duties and spend extra time on the issues that matter most.

Why I Like It

• It’s arduous to schedule time for private actions similar to studying, exercising, or having a correct lunch through the workday. Reclaim encourages you to find time for these items and routinely provides these habits to your calendar.
• The “Sensible Conferences” characteristic analyzes your complete workforce’s schedules and finds one of the best time for recurring conferences, so that you don’t have to manually search for calendars, e-mail colleagues, and handle scheduling conflicts.
• The “Calendar Sync” characteristic helped me mix my Nickelodeon, HubSpot, and private calendars to maximise my time and effectively prioritize all my commitments.

What Wants Enchancment

• The app isn’t as user-friendly as different AI instruments I examined. It took a while for me to get acquainted with the assorted options and to determine one of the best ways to optimize Reclaim for my HubSpot Weblog writing wants.
• Reclaim works greatest in a piece setting if all of your workforce members additionally use it. In any other case, you’re unable to train among the greatest options, like “Sensible Conferences.”

Pricing

• Lite plan: $0 – 1 person
• Starter plan: $8/person/month – as much as 10 customers
• Marketing strategy: $12/person/month – as much as 100 customers
• Enterprise plan: $18/person/month – over 100 customers

5. ChatPDF

48% of marketers right this moment use generative AI instruments like ChatPDF to conduct analysis. ChatPDF has revolutionized the thought of “skimming” into an AI-powered machine. You merely add any PDF and await ChatPDF to soak up the knowledge.

Then, you might be dropped at a chat web page, the place you’ll be able to ask any questions in regards to the PDF. The chat characteristic is extremely useful for college students and professors trying to summarize prolonged instructional supplies.

Nevertheless, it additionally has infinite potentialities for professionals. Obtained a 50-slide presentation from a consumer that it is advisable to sift by means of by the morning? Or a 30-page report from a client survey that can present insights in your subsequent marketing campaign? ChatPDF has your again.

As you’ll be able to see, ChatPDF helps you digest massive quantities of knowledge and select no matter knowledge factors and conclusions are essential in your work. I get pleasure from utilizing this software as a fact-checker or second set of eyes.

I learn by means of the HubSpot Blog’s State of AI Report, a 33-page PDF, to analysis some key AI productiveness stats and knowledge. Then, I used ChatPDF to double-check my work and guarantee I included a very powerful materials on this weblog submit.

Why I Like It

• This software is an ideal instance of how AI may also help us do our jobs higher with out really doing our jobs. ChatPDF doesn’t offer you any new info; as a substitute, it helps you narrow by means of the noise and get the precise knowledge you want.
• The software may be very simple to make use of. Its look is easy, which works effectively for such a AI software. Even essentially the most technologically challenged particular person can determine ChatPDF.
• You’ll be able to add a PDF in any language. That is particularly useful for me, as I work in Worldwide Advertising and marketing. Reasonably than asking my regional advertising and marketing groups to translate their PDFs into English earlier than sending them to me, I can settle for the unique format and summarize it myself.
• I recognize that, quite than merely summarizing the contents of a PDF, this AI software introduces a chatbot characteristic. This fashion, you ask for exactly what you need, which works twofold — you aren’t slowed down by unneeded info and are compelled to have some semblance of the contents since it’s important to know what to ask for. It prevents us from getting negligent with our work.

What Wants Enchancment

• The software has a really area of interest function. In contrast to ChatGPT, which can be utilized for numerous private {and professional} duties, ChatPDF has a restricted workflow. It does what it does effectively, however chances are you’ll not want to make use of it day by day.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Plus plan: $5/month
• Premium plan: $15/month

6. DreamStudio

Stability AI is the proprietor of quite a lot of AI merchandise for text-to-image and video technology. Marketers who use AI to generate written and visible content material save a median of greater than 3 hours per piece, so I used to be wanting ahead to testing DreamStudio, the web-based app model of Steady Diffusion 3.

I’m not a pure artist or designer, however at Nickelodeon, I sometimes transient our inventive groups on a brand new sequence (from foremost characters to animation type to places), which they then use to tell the creation of the sequence key artwork.

Instruments like DreamStudio would assist me shortly visualize my advertising and marketing technique, which the inventive workforce may use as a diving off level.

I made a decision to check this software to generate a picture I may use inside this weblog submit (see How I Tested the Best AI Tools for Work).

This immediate was an amazing instance of the capabilities of this text-to-image generator. I added numerous prompts and filters to hone in on the precise sort of picture I wished.

Learning how to write strong prompts that information picture technology is the simplest means to make use of text-to-image generative instruments. Chatbots may also help with that by drafting a particular immediate in your desired picture, which might then be plugged into DreamStudio.

Why I Like It

• As I discussed, it is a nice approach to visually deliver your concepts to life. Like a written define earlier than a weblog submit, DreamStudio can offer you a picture define that you should utilize as inspiration in your design or images work.
• You’ll be able to generate imagery to again up a pitch at work. If I had an thrilling thought for a Nickelodeon activation, I may use AI-generated imagery to deliver my thought to life and assist my workforce visualize it.
• Not all picture mills have a “Detrimental Immediate” characteristic, however it is vitally useful to share not solely what you need to see but additionally what you need to keep away from in your picture. You can too play with the facet ratio and the variety of photographs you obtain.
• Reasonably than a month-to-month subscription, as with different AI instruments, DreamStudio lets you purchase credit per picture, which gives extra flexibility.

What Wants Enchancment

• The pictures generated weren’t at all times correct. One of many instances I examined my above immediate, the photographs on the laptop computer display screen resembled scenes from a fantasy film quite than AI-related imagery. Whereas promising, this software could take some trial and error to lock down precisely what you’re in search of.

Pricing

• 25 free credit
• $10/1,000 credit: Roughly 5,000 photographs

My Takeaways From Utilizing AI Productiveness Instruments

I used to be fortunate to check a few of these exceptional AI instruments whereas penning this weblog submit. I had already used or heard of some, whereas others have been utterly new.

Grammarly proved to be essentially the most great tool for me as a author. I used a free trial of the Premium model, and the intelligence of its strategies blew me away.

Most of us must do some kind of writing for our careers, so it is a useful software to take your textual content from passable to extraordinary.

The software that stunned me essentially the most was ChatPDF. I had heard of it on social media and was conscious that college students closely use it, however I didn’t count on how helpful it will be in a piece setting. It’s extremely intuitive and is a superb instance of how AI can enhance effectivity with out compromising the usual of our work.

Whereas many could concern AI overtaking their experience, we will’t deny the importance of humanity in every thing we do. That’s why I at all times use generative writing and content material strategies as solely an overview or leaping level.

AI could possibly elevate our lives, however it could by no means change what we, as distinctive people, have to supply.